But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8-9.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Jesus had grace and favor with Me and man. Favor comes from Me to those who seek My presence, who seek My face, and walk with Me in truth, but then I extend that favor so that even your enemies are at peace with you and give you good things.
When I redeemed My people out of the slavery of Egypt by great signs and wonders which devastated the land of Egypt, I gave My people favor in the eyes of those who had enslaved them and murdered their boy babies and they gave them tremendous wealth and blessings the night of the Passover as they departed.
When I restore the years the devil stole you receive greater quality and quantity than you had before, and that is favor.
Think about your own relationships with others, are you not more inclined to do good things for those who are walking with you, being obedient to you, not fighting and rebelling against, and, to put it simply, those who love and accept you and want to be with you? It is the love that means the most. Jacob provided for and was good to Leah, but he did not love her. And that was what broke her heart until she learned to give her heart and praise to Me. And she did that on the birth of her fourth son, Judah, (transliterated “Judah” from his Hebrew name “Yehudah,” which means “praise.” It is from the Hebrew verb “to thank” or “to praise” (yada)).
And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah (יהודה). Genesis 35:29.
And at that point her life became one of praise and joy no matter what Jacob thought. She had learned that I was her audience of one, that is, the only one that mattered in finding favor and grace. And I showed her favor. I chose her son Judah to be the line through whom Jesus, the Messiah, took flesh to dwell among you. In praise she birthed a line of those who gave praise, like David, Jehoshaphat, and Mary.
And Jacob himself came to love and honor the loyal Leah. He referred to her as Joseph’s mother after Rachel had died and Jacob requested to be buried with Leah. And Joseph had learned from her, he walked with Me as his audience of one through the slavery and imprisonment in Egypt until I promoted him by favor to the top government official next to Pharaoh. I gave him favor with his slave master, favor with the chief jailor, and favor with Pharaoh. He just went higher and higher because he found favor with Me. Like Noah, Joseph was a righteous man blameless in his time who walked with Me.
And how was it Joseph stayed so close to Me and walked in favor? He forgave, actually, he never dwelt on or gave thought to the evil his brothers had done to him. He knew they meant it for evil but as far as he was concerned that was between each one of them and Me. He was not there to judge them, he left that to Me. He was there for Me, his audience of one. Like Leah, like Noah. He just wanted to please Me so that I would be with him. He loved My presence, it gave him joy no matter what circumstances he was in, and that made him a prosperous man, even as a slave and as a prisoner.
The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a properous man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Genesis 39:2-6.
When his master’s wife tried to make Joseph sin with her he refused to do what was not pleasing in My sight. Joseph was aware of My presence with him and he was grateful to Me, he was determined to not do anything that would disrupt our relationship by sin. Potiphar’s wife did not feel the same way and had Joseph confined to jail out of spite. But that did not put any bitter roots in Joseph because he was right with Me even if she was not.
Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper. Genesis 39:19-23.
When My favor is on you, you cannot escape notice and good things will pour out upon you. The next promotion for Joseph was out of the prison to a palace of his own given him by Pharaoh in the top government position in Egypt next to Pharaoh. And he did not abuse that position, he prospered Pharaoh, the nation, his brothers who had betrayed him, and everyone that came near him he blessed. He saved the whole area from starving in a seven year famine.
Joseph walked with Me through his entire life and he was a blessed man and everything he did prospered.
It is time you sought not the praise of men or your own lusts but to walk with Me to the praise of My glory, that is, bringing My goodness, My presence and My power to those living in darkness and the shadow of death whose lives are being manipulated and run by the evil one, as were Joseph’s brothers. But the goodness of Joseph brought them all out of darkness to the light of My love. And in doing this, Joseph had the most wonderful life of that time and place. Like Noah who alone was righteous, blameless in his time.
I consider the time you are in, what you know, what you could know, and what you do with it. The one to whom more is entrusted, I hold to a higher standard than the one who is in a place where knowledge of Me and My Word is blocked by those in authority. But now I am making the Word heard everywhere through modern technology and media that can be tapped into in even the darkest places. Everywhere I am offering the gift of Jesus to save you and prosper you so that you may find a time of favor and grace in Him.
The word for favor in Hebrew is “hen (חֵן)” and it also means grace. It is made of the letters “chet (ח)” and “nun (נ)” and is read from right to left, but if you read it left to right is the name “Noah” (נֹחַ), which means “rest.” The idea of grace and favor, which can be described as My face shining upon you, is living under an open Heaven pouring down My blessings. Favor is what makes your life a place of peace and rest where evil cannot enter and take you down. Evil can be all around you but never get into you so that you tread down the evil one in a life shielded by My favor and grace. It is the hedge of protection described in Psalm 91 and you notice you get in that secret place by abiding in Me as your refuge and fortress in whom you trust.
And Jesus told you how to abide—by remaining in My Word and letting it remain in you, like a branch attached to a vine producing the good fruit of the vine with no hindrance to block the sap flowing from the vine to the branch. The one who keeps My Word loves Me and I love that person as well, love begets love, and love brings Me and My Son to dwell with you and give you the joy and perfect protection of our presence. There is fullness of joy in My presence for I am love and there is no darkness in Me, on the light, the light of life.
Favor is in the light. Joseph, all his life, kept his deeds in the light. He could have been just as evil and scheming, jealous and heartless as his brothers but he chose not to be. He chose to walk with Me in the light no matter where he was, whether thrown in a pit, working as a slave, put unjustly into prison, or living in the palace as lord of all. There was nothing he needed to hide, whether he was a slave or the ruler of all he never took advantage or acted immorally or from greed. Why? He knew Me and that I gave him everything, even beyond all he could ask or imagine. People tried to harm him but I continually promoted him. He preferred the promotion to the bitterness and resentment. He just shook the dust from his feet went on with Me on the higher path. He walked with Me in the light and so in his life all was light.
He had learned from Leah, no matter who hates you or what they do against you, I will always cause you to triumph when the dust settles. I am there to love you and bless you beyond all you can ask or imagine if you just keep walking on with Me.
The way you seek favor is by staying true to Me and My Word and you will find as I promised the Israelites who came out of Egypt if they would but keep My Word and not turn to the right or the left so that they did not shipwreck in bitterness, complaining, malice and jealousy, the all My blessing would chase them down and overwhelm them and that is what favor is all about.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently hear and obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:1-13.